Engine mounting structure



Nov. 15, 1960 w. l. THELEN 2,960,299

ENGINE MOUNTING STRUCTURE Original Filed Oct. 20. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'NVENTOR MMM@ j 77am/ MWL MM5/a( ATTO R N EYS Nov. 15, 1960 w. 1. THELENENGINE MOUNTING STRUCTURE Original Filed Oct. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTORNEYS ENGINE MOUNTING STRUCTURE Wilbur I. Thelen, Traverse City,Mich., assignor to Arthur Thelen, Fowler, Mich.

Continuation of application Ser. No. 463,563, Oct. 20, 1954. Thisapplication Oct. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 845,573

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-8) The present invention relates to a motor mountingdevice for aircraft type engines and more particularly to a mountingdevice which permits controlled resiliency or tilting of the motor alongthe line of thrust in a vertical plane while permitting positiverotation of the engine about the axis of the mount. The presentinvention is also directed to providing simple and secure means forpermitting the rotation of such aircraft-type motors on the axis of themount to permit directional control over water, land, ice, and snow incrafts designed to use air propulsion obtained by aircraft style enginesor motors. The present invention is also directed to a structure makingpossible rapid and effective acceleration of the crafts indicated.

While some makeshift means for rotational mounting of aircraft enginesabout the axis of a mount are known, it is not believed that any of thepresently-known structures have included resiliency in the stabilizationof the craft to which it is to be attached, and none have integrated theturning means with the mounting structure so far as the inventor isaware.

Accordingly it is among the objects of the present invention to providea motor mounting structure which may be attached to the deck of airpropelled land, sea, ice, or snow craft by simple and secure attachmentmeans and which may be easily rotated for directional control of thecraft.

It is a further object to teach a structure wherein resiliency isprovided along the vertical plane through the line of thrust.

Another object is to provide a mounting structure which acts as astabilizing member for the crafts indicated.

, It is a further object to teach adjustable resiliency in a mountingfor aircraft-type engines which includes axial rotation of the entiremounting.

A further object is to teach a motor mounting cage adjustable tosubstantially any type of aircraft-style engine.

Other objects of the present invention including economy andstandardization of mounting for any style of motor used will becomeincreasingly apparent to those skilled in the art as the descriptionproceeds.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation exploded view of the motor mountillustrating the assembly thereof.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the mounting structure illustratingthe device in its operative setting and indicating the adjustmentfeature of the motor cage.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the resilient linkage between cage andlower base members.

General description In general, the present structure consists of amotor mounting cage wherein vertically adjustable and lockable legmembers extend in unlimited vertical combinations to accommodate a widevariety of aircraft-type engines. The term aircraft-type engines isherein used to connote motors of the well-known radial and in linestyles, but is more inclusively intended to encompass any ice lmotor orengine driving a propeller or any motor of the so-called jet variety.The cage is provided with bearing support extensions at the bottom,generally spaced apart from the shaft or engine axis.

A spindled base member is provided having upstanding brackets pivotallymatching the downwardly extending bearing support extensions of thecage. thus established by the pivotal linking of cage and spindled basemember through the brackets and extensions. Without more the engine axiscould be freely tilted on this pivot, limited only by ultimateinterference as the cage engaged the spindled base member. Fore and aftresilient members are provided, therefore, which arev adjustabletensionally and compressionally tobias the cage bottomand spindled basein parallel relationship. These resilient members lie on the planecoincident with the mount structure as established by the spindle. Theresilient means employed in models presently in use are in fact springs,although pneumatic, hydraulic, and other resilient means have beenexplored and are intended to be included within the scope of theinvention.

p A socket is provided which is flanged and reinforced for deckmounting. An aperture is provided through the socket for theaccommodation of the spindle. Suitable bearing is provided in the socketto transmit radial and thrust loading to the socket anges and ultimatelyto the deck.

A sprocket is rigidly attached to the spindle member to facilitaterotation of the spindle in the socket and provides positive turningmeans when a link chain, for example, is employed for remote positiverotational control.

A mounting structure is thus provided which permits tilting of theaircraft engine on its axis against adjustable compression and tension.At one and the same time the entire engine may be rotated about the axisof the motor mount. The operational importance of the deck mounting andtilting features will be discussed at length as the descriptionproceeds, while the directional control features incident to therotation of the mount about its axis will' be apparent from the drawing.

Specjc description Referring more particularly to the drawings, inFigures l and 2, the motor cage 11 is composed of a frame 12 built upfrom structural angles 13 to form a substantially rectilinear open box.Upstanding legs 14 are provided which extend upwardly supported by thecorners of the frame 12 as shown best in Figure l. The legs 14 are alsostructural angles and are selected in accord with the strengthcharacteristics desired in the cage 11 to support any given motor 15(shown in phantom line).

In some very heavy installations diagonal bracing mem,

bers may be employed between the legs 14. No illustration is made ofthis modification which is believed -to relate only to obviousstrengthening of the cage 11. The legs 14 are provided with slots 16permitting vertical adjustment as by bolts 17 of engine mounting pads18.

The pads -18 are illustrated as members being generally Y L-shaped inconstruction although suitably sized angle members slotted as at 19 tomate with the corresponding leg slots 16 have been satisfactorilyemployed. They pads 18 provide means for securing the motor to the cage11 as by bolting or welding and, as is well known` in the art,vibrational damping auxiliary pads may be employed where the motor 15 isconnected to the pads 18. Welded construction is preferred forassembling the cage 11. The cage 11 is secured at the bottom of theframe 12 to a disc-like upper base member 2.0. Thus,. the upper basemember 20 forms a closure for the bottom of the cage 11 suitable for themounting of motor acces; I

A pivot is sories where desired (for example, battery, starter motor,fuel tanks, et cetera).

On the underside of the upper base member 20 a pivot 21 is provided bythe downward extension of arms l-22 in spaced parallel relationship .asbest shown :in Figure 3. The varms 22 are provided with shaft receivingapertures 23, the said apertures 23 being Vin axial alignment with eachother. Stop members 24 are provided as shown which are capable of beingemployed to prevent excessive pivot action when desired. The stopmembers 24 areextensions of the arms 22. The arms 22 are integrallyattached to the upper base member 20` as by Welding. As best illustratedVin Figures 2 and 3, the arms -22 parallel the axis of the motor 15. Thepivot 21 thus established a means for rocking or tilting the motor 15.The shaft 25, as will be more .fully appreciated as the descriptionproceeds, provides the tilting axis at right angles to the mount axis.

A lower base member 26, also generally a disc-like plate, is providedwith parallel spaced upright brackets 27. These brackets 27 correspondmatingly with the arms 22 and form a pivotal connection on shaft 25 asshown in yFigure l. Stanchions 28 are provided on the upper face of thelower base member 26 located diametrically fore and aft between thebrackets 27. The stanchions 28 provide retaining means for resilientmembers at 29. In the illustration the springs 30 are shown as aspecific embodiment of resilient means and may be either tensional orcompressional, or combinations of both. Hydraulic and pneumaticresilient members, well known in the art, are intended to be included inthe description. Cylindrical spring retainers 31 are attached to thelower face of the upper base plate 20 and are directed in such a mannerso that when the springs 30a and 30h are inserted therein, the axes ofsprings 30a and 3011, retainers 31, and stanchions 28 are coincidentwhen the upper base 20 is parallel planally with the lower base 26. Theaxes of the resilient means 29 are canted in a converging direction asbest illustrated in Figure l toward the axis of the motor mount asestablished by the spindle 32.

Adjustment means, specifically illustrated in 'Figure l as a bolt 33 andpresser disc 34 are provided in the cylindrical spring retainers 31 forVarying the compression and tension characteristics in the resilientmeans 29. The adjusting bolts 33 are in threaded engagement with theupper base member 20 and extend upwardly within the frame 12. Thespindle 32 is bolted or otherwise affixed to the lower face of the lowerbase member 26.

The spindle 32 is provided with a shouldered ange 35 which is secured tothe lower base member 26. The shouldered flange 35 also permits theattachment of the sprocket 36. 'Ihe sprocket 36 may be attached to theshoudered flange 35 by bolting or other convenient means such as weldingor keying. A forging exempliiies one form in which the sprocket 36 isintegral with the spindle 32. The sprocket 36 will thus accommodate alink chain 37 (see Figure 2) for positive turning 'of the upper andlower base members 20 and 26 and coincidentally the cage 11 and attachedmotor 15. The cage 11 linked to the spindled lower base member 26 at thepivot 21 turns about the axis of the mount as the spindle 32 is rotated.The spindle 32 is also provided with thrust shoulder 38 and a taperedshank 39. The lower terminal end of the spindle 32 is threaded at 40.

A socket 41, provided with a flange 42 and ribbed reinforcements 43 andhaving a spindle accommodating aperture 44 axially therethrough for therotatable insertion of the spindle 32, is arranged for deck mounting asshown in Figure 1. The deck 45 (shown in phantom line) is bolted orotherwise securely attached to the socket 41through the flange 42. Thesocket 41 and associated spindle 32 thus provides a turntable permittingaxial rotation of the motor mount. The rotation kof the motor mount issubstantially frictionless by reason of the upper anti-friction bearing46 and the lower tapered roller antifriction bearing 47 insertable inthe corresponding bearing housings 48 and 49 respectively provided inthe socket 41. Upper and lower grease seals 50 and 51 complete thebearing assembly and draw nut 52 threadably and lockably engages thethreaded portion 40 of the spindle 32 for retaining securely the motormount against vertical movement.

Operation In operation a substantially frictionless positive turning isaccomplished by reason of the bearing details indicated and the ythrustbearing 46 and tapered radial and thrust roller bearing 47 permit secureand tight adjustment while transmitting the radial and thrust loadsapplied by the motor 15 from the mounting structure to the deck 45. Thesprocket 36 with associated chain drive 37 assures simple positive andremote control of the rotation of the mount so as to directionallycontrol air propelled land, sea, ice, and snow craft.

Within the Aadjustment possible in any given installation the shockabsorption characteristics of the resilient linkage 29 permit the motoraxis to tilt in response to shock loading of the engine 15. This isdesirable within controlled limits since it vertically adjusts thenormally horizontal line of thrust in air propelling motors to suit thecharacteristics desired in any given craft. For -example, in water craftit is desirable for early maximum speed to lraise the bow of the craftas soon as possible to minimize the friction along the hull. Thepresently described motor mount accomplishes this by making the line ofthrust adjust itself to the desired initial conditions in response tothe acceleration given the motor 15.

On sudden acceleration, the motor 15 is tilted upward against theresilient bias 29 described, and if the motor 15 is mounted at the rearof the craft, the forward resilient member 30a is depressed -thustending to raise the bow of the craft while tending to lower the stern.In a hydroplane-type structure, the vessel is almost immediately on thestep and planing. If this mount is utilized forwardly on a vessel with apuller-type propellor, for example, the line of thrust is equallybeneficial since the engine axis is similarly tilted beneficially so asto elevate the bow portion of the craft and depress the stern.

By reason of the resilient bias 29 incorporated in the structure thecondition suggested is only characteristic of sudden acceleration. Asthe craft approaches a stabilized speed the bias tends to normalize thethrust in a generally horizontal line.

In heavy or choppy Water the wave resistance frictional- 1y contactingthe hull of a typical craft also causes a resilient shift of thrust linetending to raise the bow of the craft and minimize wave shock. Thisresults in increased stability both in straight line travel and inturning.

Adjustments to individual motors can be easily accomplished by varyingthe length of legs 14 and the size of mounting pads 1S. Tensional andcompressional adjustments are easily made in the resilient linkage bythe use of the adjusting bolts 33. -By reason of simplicity of thestructure resilient members 30a and 30h of varying strength may beeasily substituted as horse power is increased or decreased.

The structure described admits of simple adaptation to deck mounting onvarious conventional and non-conventional craft. In operation thestructure has been substantially trouble-free and where disassembly isdesired it is accomplished with no diiculty. ln operation with land,sea, ice, and snow crafts, unusual craft stability is observed alongwith directional control at extremely high speeds. The stability isattributable in considerable measure'to the mount described.

Having thus described my invention, it will be understood thatvmodifications falling within the scope .of 4my hereinafter appendedclaims are intended to be included unless otherwise specificallyindicated.

I claim:

1. An engine mounting structure for selectively tilting the thrust axisof a motor in accord with acceleration or deceleration of the motorwhile providing for rotati-on of said motor about a vertical wis, thecombination including: a flanged deck mounting socket; a plurality ofanti-friction bearings housed in said socket; a spindle through saidsocket and journalled by said bearings thereby providing a verticalaxis; a turning sprocket on said spindle; a disc-like spindle platesecured to said spindle adjacent said sprocket and extending radiallyand transversely from said spindle; a base plate in spaced apartrelationship from said spindle plate; a pivot shaft securing said baseplate and said spindle plate in pivotal relation, said pivot shaft axispassing through the extension of the axis of said spindle at rightangles thereto; a pair of resilient bias members acting between saidbase plate and said spindle plate for resiliently biasing said baseplate in a parallel spaced relationship with said spindle plate, oneresilient bias member on one side of said shaft and the other membersymmetrically located on the other side of said shaft; and means forxedly securing a motor to said base plate in a position such that thethrust axis of said motor is transverse of the extended vertical axis ofsaid spindle and transverse to the horizontal axis of said shaft.

2. In the structure as set forth in claim 1 and including: adjustmentmeans bearing on said resilient bias members for selectively alteringthe strength of the said resilient bias members in their force againstsaid base plate and said spindle plate.

3. In the structure as set forth in claim 2 wherein the said resilientbias members comprise compression springs.

4. An engine mounting device for air thrust engines permittingcontrolled rotation of such engine about a horizontal axis in accordwith acceleration or deceleration of such engine, the combinationcomprising a flanged deck mounting socket having an axial openingtherethrough; anti-friction bearing elements coaxially housed in saidsocket for transmitting radial and axial thrust loads; a spindle throughthe opening in said housing and journalled in said anti-friction bearingelements; a turning sprocket secured around said spindle and coaxialtherewith; -a draw nut threadably engageable with said spindle securingsaid spindle against axial displacement; a disc-like spindle platesecured at the center thereof to said spindle and being transversethereto; a pair of parallel spaced apart supports on said plate andproviding journal means therethrough; a base plate; a pair of dependingmounting lugs extending from said base plate, each mounting lug having ajournal opening therethrough in axial register with the journal meansprovided in said supports; a pivot shaft axially through said journalmeans of said supports and said lugs providing a tilting axis for saidbase plate in relationship to said spindle; a pair of resilient biasmembers on either side of said pivot shaft and substantially betweensaid supports and bearing against said plate on one side and saidspindle plate on the other side; and motor securing means fixed to saidbase plate for securing a motor thereto having a thrust axis transverseto said pivot shaft and to said spindle axis.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,187,309 Grove June 13, 1916 1,564,692 Largillier Dec. 8, 19252,123,226 Benedek July 12, 1938

